Happy Holidays Sweetling
by Ordon
Summary: Qrow Branwen has long had to deal with various monstrosities, and they never take a break. It is time for the Guardian of Remnant to save the holidays. [A smaller story set in my Nevermore Sweetling setting.]
1. Chapter 1

Initiate Transcription: Begin the Holiday Choir

Buzz Buzz Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

 _ **There a Mi-Go goes**_

 _ **We're screaming**_ all the way

Bells on _**meathooks**_ ring

Making spirits _**writhe**_

What fun it is to sing a _**slaying**_ song tonight!

Error: INFILTRATION DETECTED: Begin the Bowl Full of Jelly protocol

 _ **Happy Holidays Chuck**_

Resolution: Error Corrected: Re-Initiate Season's Greetings

Sing in the New Year

Happy Holidays, Dear Sweetling

* * *

Of all of the holidays celebrated on Remnant, there are few as universal or beloved as the ones celebrated during the period of time in the winter when the night shines with brilliant auroras. In Atlas, they celebrate The Festival of Lights, and attribute it to a story in ancient folk tales. In Mistral, it's called the Royal Lights, and is attributed to the First Emperor. In Vacuo, it's called the Nights of the Phoenix, and is ascribed to a blessing by the mythical creature.

Regardless of the name, it's a special time, because for some mysterious reason, Grimm will become more passive than any other time. Retreating back into caves or other such hideaways, sometimes even halting current attacks to slink away.

Now of course, every single egghead from Anima to Menagerie will tell you that it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since everyone knows that the Grimm will become less active, the resulting hope and lack of fear, as well as the general good-will surrounding the holiday, would cause the Grimm to become less active anyway. They might be right; it might be a Remnant-wide placebo that has existed for as long as anyone can remember and so because people trust that it will happen, it continues to happen.

But then again, even those very same eggheads will still stand with the rest of us and stare at those lights in wonder. It truly is a magical time of year, in Vale and the surrounding territories, we call it-

"Happy Tree-Time Uncle Qrow!" Ruby squealed she threw her arms around my legs to welcome me to the house.

Err, well technically it's called Tannenbaum, but close enough.

"Hey there kiddo." I replied as I ruffled her hair.

Just as Ruby's outburst implied, in ancient Vale, we celebrated it as a time where the trees themselves watched over us. Originally, the holiday would be celebrated as a time where each household would select a tree as a guardian. They would then adorn the tree with talismans, pictures of ancestors, and various other items of sentimental, mystical, or spiritual value. At the height of the holiday, the entire family would hold a feast near the tree; setting a place for its guardian as a way of showing thanks.

Now a days, we pick a tree to chop down, bring it into the house, and decorate it with baubles and trinkets usually sold from a store. Don't ask me how that particular transition was made, but it was still a time for family to come together. After all, with Grim activity so low, in years past it meant that it was one of the few times during the year where Huntsmen and Huntresses could be certain of a time where they would get to see their families and friends, and to get much their much needed rest.

Now of course, I deal with monsters of a different sort, and as I would learn the hard way that Tannenbaum, those don't ever take a break.

They're kind of jerks like that.

Peeling the little ball of energy from my legs I kneeled down to give her a big hug.

"We've already got the tree this year!" She said excitedly, "Come look!" She grabbed my hand and lead me into the living room, where a large pine tree dominated the room.

"Papa wanted to chop it down with an axe, but Yang just punched it a couple of times and FWOOM!" She mimed the tree falling to crash to the ground.

I raised an eyebrow in mild surprise; that kid really was getting strong. "So where are Papa and Yang right now?" I asked her.

"They're out getting firewood." She replied lightly. There was a sharp bark, and a black and white corgi entered the room. It made a beeline straight for Ruby, who picked it up and snuggled it tightly. I watched the 'dog' suspiciously as it stared blankly back at me. It had been about a year since I had given Zwei to Ruby, and so far there hadn't been any major issues to my knowledge.

"Look Uncle Qrow, I taught Zwei how to sit and stay, watch." She set Zwei down, "Sit." She commanded, the dog instantly sat down, panting happily. "Stay." She told him, and then walked out of the room.

The dog cocked his head slightly, but stayed put. For all the world, it seemed like a normal, obedient dog. That is, until you watched closely on where the dog's eyes were looking at any point. They steadily moved, as though tracking something in the walls; suddenly, Zwei's head lifted slightly and with a slight chill, I heard Ruby climbing the stairs.

The same intent, tracking movement continued as I heard Ruby open a door upstairs, and Zwei looked straight up as I heard the floorboards echo with footsteps above us. Then I heard the door close, and Ruby walk down the stairs, and Zwei's eyes slowly traced the movement. The dog's gaze then tracked to the side until he was looking at the entryway right when Ruby walked back into the room.

"Good boy!" She gushed and handed the dog a treat, which he ate up happily.

I suppose it made sense; I had given Zwei to Ruby after I had found the strange creature during a mission into a cultist facility. From what my contact had told me, it had been a guardian construct whose bonding hadn't been completed yet. If what I suspected was true and Zwei really had bonded with Ruby, then basic location pinpointing should be expected. Still, it was kind of creepy to watch a dog stare through walls.

Zwei's ears perked up and he barked happily, a moment later, the door opened, admitting a heavily bundled girl and man both with blonde hair.

"Heya Uncle Qrow!" Yang said brightly, hefting a bundle of firewood over her shoulder.

Taiyang's lips pursed for a moment, but nodded to me in a somewhat amiable fashion, which I returned in kind. He slung his own bag of firewood over his shoulder and walked around the corner into the kitchen.

My former teammate and I hadn't gotten along very well after Summer's death, but during this time of year, we made a sort of unspoken truce to try and get along as best we could, which worked out well enough.

Hey, I said it was a magical time of year didn't I?

Yang walked over and set down the firewood, before coming over to give me a big hug, "Glad you could make it." She said warmly.

I grinned down at her, "Not just me." I told her, and right on cue, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Ruby said as she dashed toward the door, Zwei happily gambling along beside her. She opened the door and gave a squeal of delight, "Mister Knight!"

Captain Geralt, former Knight Captain of the Order of the Equinox stepped into the room, grabbing Ruby and hoisting her high into the air as he did so. Ruby began giggling wildly as he put her up onto his shoulders.

The knight had been a survivor of Mountain Glenn and had sought me out a year or so later to work alongside me. He had helped to pull me out of a bad situation with some cultists I had royally pissed off. It also didn't hurt to have a heavily armored man with a chainsaw-pike on your side, so I had readily accepted his help. As a bonus, Yang and Ruby absolutely adored him, and he them; he had been the one who had constructed Yang's gauntlets and was now teaching Ruby how to construct her own weapons.

I watched as Yang collided with his midsection in a charging bear hug; the big man let out a big _whoosh_ of air and I winced in sympathy. The knight chuckled slightly and wrapped his right arm around the blonde haired girl, "By the Brothers," he wheezed. "Have you been lifting cars in your spare time?"

She grinned widely as they released each other. "Ah, c'mon, getting too old for a little bit of enthusiastic greeting?"

His eyes narrowed in mock severity as he bent down to look right into her eyes, "I'll show you old, you little twig. Taiyang!" He yelled, "What have you been feeding her? She's going to blow away if the wind picks up!"

"Better stuff than that slop that you tried to poison us with last time!" Taiyang replied.

Geralt snorted and made a show of pinching Yang's arms, "What? It's what my mother made me as a child; that's how I got to be so big!"

Taiyang and Geralt continued to banter back and forth good-naturedly while the former knight continued to rough-house lightly with Ruby and Yang. I watched them for a while before standing up to look outside; Patch was having the most snow that it had had in years that winter. The entire surrounding landscape was covered, and I smiled slightly as I saw a snowman standing outside.

"That's Mister Freezy." Taiyang said conversationally as he stepped up beside me.

"Hmm?" I asked him.

He pointed at the snowman, "Mister Freezy," he repeated, "Yang wanted to name it Mister Snow, but she was outvoted 2 to 1."

I frowned, "You and Ruby?"

"Ruby and Zwei." He answered.

We were silent as we continued looking out the , Taiyang fidgeted slightly and spoke, "Look, Qrow… I-"

"Don't." I warned him.

His face twisted slightly, "Look, I know that you're still angry with me, I get that."

"Since you're still talking, I don't think you do."

He let out a frustrated sigh, "You realize that what happened hurt me too? She was my wife for Maiden's sake."

"You weren't the one who had to make sure she didn't come back." I answered.

He opened his mouth to say something else and then stopped, shaking his head slowly, "Look, I'm not asking for you to forgive me. I'm asking for you to let me start over."

I gritted my teeth slightly and my voice was clipped as I replied, "We'll see." I told him.

He sighed and shook his head, and appeared to be about to say something else when there was a shout from behind us. We both turned to see Geralt grinning widely as the two girls were tearing into two enormous, gift wrapped packages.

I raised an eyebrow as Yang pulled hers out of its entrapments, letting out a shout of triumph. In her hands was a large, metal and wood sled. Even from here, I could tell that it was finely crafted, and I looked at Geralt, who gave me a gigantic wink.

"Look what Mister Knight got us Uncle Qrow!" Ruby screeched as Yang helped her get hers out of its packaging, "Thank you Mister Knight!" She said belatedly.

"My pleasure." Geralt rumbled, "Now, I saw a very good hill on my way over, why don't we go over there and try them out."

The two girls cheered and began eagerly dragging their new presents outside. "I'll come along." I said as I began bundling up. As I was following the three of them outside, Taiyang reached out and grabbed me by the wrist, "Just promise you'll think about it… okay?"

I hesitated then yanked my arm out of his grip, "Sure, whatever." I answered as I made my way out the door.

* * *

The hill that Captain Geralt had mentioned was Ingrid's Hill. It was a decently large, steep hill, with heavily wooded area at its base. Geralt and I helped the two drag their sleds up to the top and watched as the two squealed with delight as they shot off towards the bottom.

Geralt looked up at the sky and took in a huge, contented breath, "What a beautiful day." He commented. Still in a foul mood from my talk with Taiyang, I merely grunted. The former knight looked at me and then sighed heavily, "He used to be your teammate, you know." He rumbled.

"Being a teammate didn't seem to matter too much to him when it mattered most." I snapped.

"Cryptic as always," Geralt murmured, "You never have explained to me what caused the rift between you two."

I watched Yang egg her younger sister on as they made their way back up the hill, "No, I haven't." I replied archly.

We stopped talking as we helped Yang and Ruby get their sleds into position, and they both cheered as we sent them plunging back down the hill.

"That being said, I have ears," Geralt said softly.

I sighed, "Geralt…"

He held up a massive palm, "I won't tell you that you aren't justified in your bitterness." He told me, "But the girls, they have already lost both of their mothers. It's not fair for them to have to decide between their father and their idol."

I snorted at that, "Right, the coward and the drunkard."

"That's not fair to either of you or them." Geralt responded harshly.

"What? You met me at a bar where I got so plastered that I was about to get punked by some cultists and Taiyang…" I shut my mouth and ground my teeth.

"From what you've said, I can hazard a guess…"

I sighed, "Long story short, we were fighting a monster; he panicked. Summer paid the price for his mistake; he as good as killed her."

"Yes, he may very well have." Geralt responded, "But I will tell you this, at Mountain Glenn, I saw men and women, veterans of thousands of fights with the Grimm: do the exact same thing when faced with those monsters." He shrugged, "Yet, I hold it against none of them; they could not be expected to face such monstrosities."

He paused a soft smile on his face as he watched Ruby and Yang set up for another run down the hill, "No one should."

"Tell that to the things that shoved me into it." I replied, "Besides, need I remind you, you freakin' _chose_ to join up."

Geralt nodded, "True, but think of this, one of the reasons I did so, was to ensure that people like Taiyang, people who could face any other terror, don't have to."

He shrugged, "As for you, 'the drunkard', surely you've seen that cape of hers?"

"Sure, her mother wore something similar."

"It's red Qrow." Geralt said softly, "Just like yours, never lets it out of her sight."

In reality, that detail hadn't been lost on me, but I hadn't so much shrugged it off as shoved it away. "So? Her name's Ruby, besides, red looks good on her."

"That's not all," The knight continued, "You do know what weapon Ruby is having me help her build?"

"A dog-launcher?" I asked.

He smiled slightly at that, "No, but I imagine that was a close second." His eyes locked onto mine, "A scythe-sniper rifle changer."

I don't think there's anything else that could have hit me as much as that, I stared at the snow at my feet as the knight continued, "A sniper rifle like her mother," He murmured, "And a-"

"Scythe like me." I finished numbly.

We were quiet for a moment, "The girl practically worships you." He told me gently, "But you're gone so much, and when you are here I can tell there's a part of you that never allows yourself to accept that praise. I think she's gotten old enough that she's starting to see that; I can see the doubt, that somehow she's not good enough."

"I'm telling you this because when that weapon's done, she's going to want someone to train her." He deliberately eyed Harbinger, "When that time comes, I hope that you've forgiven yourself enough that you can accept that position in the spirit that she deserves."

I was quiet for a long time, and just when I was about to respond I heard Yang's voice calling from the base of the hill. I turned to face her, and frowned when I saw that she was coming up alone, Ruby's sled lay abandoned at the bottom of the hill.

"Uncle Qrow!" She yelled as she ran up to us, "I was going up the hill, and I swear Ruby was right behind me, when I turned around and she was gone. I looked around, and I can't find her anywhere!"

I frowned and began to walk down the hill, when suddenly something made my teeth stand on edge, some feeling that something was wrong.

I quickened my pace and beside me, I heard Geralt do the same, "Get back to the house, Yang!" I called over my shoulder.

"You feel it too?" The former knight asked as we sprinted down the hill.

"Yeah, whatever it is, it's something pretty bad."

As we reached Ruby's sled, I channeled my Semblance, transforming into a dog. I quickly sniffed at the sled to get Ruby's scent, and then took off into the woods, with Geralt following closely behind.

We had only gone for a couple of minutes when there was a bright flash of light, and a strange symbol rose into the sky before dissipating. "By the Brothers," Geralt muttered as he drew his sword, "That was an Elder Sign."

I didn't respond, Ruby's scent was unbelievably strong, just beyond these bushes and-

I leapt into the clearing, turning back into my human form in midair, my sword was already in my hands and I swept it around into a guard position. A moment later, Geralt thundered to stand beside me, where we both stood in shock.

There was Ruby, sitting completely unharmed, petting Zwei even as she scolded him softly. "Bad Zwei, very bad, we do _not_ bite strangers." The little black and white dog seemed completely unfazed, simply panting happily and staring blankly at a pile of what appeared to be brown cloth.

Geralt and I moved as one, I moved to kneel beside Ruby, checking her over for any marks, "Are you okay kid? Does it hurt anywhere? Any weird feelings?"

Ruby shook her head, "No, I heard some singing and then this man came out and waved at me to follow him." She pointed at the brown cloth, "I don't remember much after that," She admitted, "But the next thing I remember is Zwei was biting him." Suddenly she looked up at me, worry in her eyes, "Zwei's not going to get into trouble is he? He's a nice dog, you know that, he would never, ever-"

"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Geralt said, and despite his effort to keep his voice calm, there was a distinct edge to it. "Why don't you go bring Zwei back to the house Ruby? Qrow and I are going to stay here for just a moment."

Ruby's face brightened a little, "Okay." She stood up and looked down at the dog, "C'mon Zwei, let's go get the sled-"

"No, go straight home, Qrow and I will take care of the sleds." Geralt commanded in a tone that brooked no argument.

Ruby looked a little uncertainly at Geralt, unsettled by his tone, I reached over and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry kid," I reassured her, "Mister Knight and I will follow right behind you."

Ruby nodded and dashed off, Zwei following closely behind.

As soon as they were gone, I walked up to stand beside Geralt, "Talk to me."

"Bad news... a revenant." He said, "There are the thirteen rings sewn into the cloak, and the smell…" He offered it up to me and I took a deep sniff.

"Sure enough, smells like dirt and periwinkle." I looked around the clearing, "So what exactly do you think happened?" I asked him.

"Seems like a temporary banishment." Geralt responded as he stood up, letting the robes fall back into the snow, "No doubt Zwei's doing."

I gave a silent prayer of thanks to whatever deities were listening that I had given that thing to Ruby. Then I digested the rest of what the man had said, "Temporary?" I asked him.

He nodded, "Revenants require a very specific method." He told me, "They have to be bound by a ritual, defeated, and then trapped into a mirror as they flee. Otherwise they'll just become incorporeal until they can manifest themselves again."

"Right, how long do you think that will take?" I asked him.

He picked up the robes again and sliced out a hole with his sword. I watched in fascination as the threads surrounding the hole began twisting and weaving themselves together, soon, the hole was completely patched up, as though it had never been there. Geralt silently swore, "9 seconds, square foot… we're looking at a fairly powerful revenant. I would guess that it could come back at any moment."

As though right on cue, the robes twitched violently, and then began unraveling, each individual thread rising into the air before disappearing.

"Ah, so just because it re-manifests, it doesn't have to do it here."

Geralt nodded, "Correct, there's no telling where it will appear next." He turned and began walking back out of the clearing. "We'll have to be on our guard at all times."

I patted him on the back as I walked along beside him, "Hey, when it comes to paranoia, we're some of the best there is."

We kept our guard up the entire time we made our way back to the house; our senses on high-alert for anything that could be the start of an attack.

Finally, as I saw the house in the distance, I let out a long, slow breath that I hadn't been aware that I had been holding. Beside me, Geralt did the same, casually leaning his sword on his shoulder. "I believe our best course of action will be to rest tonight," He told me, "I will prepare the ritual, and on the morrow we can hunt for the creature before it can do any harm."

I nodded, "I'll prepare a tracking ritual." I told him.

"That would be prudent." He replied.

I frowned as I saw Yang and Ruby standing next to each other, staring at an empty spot in the yard.

"What the heck are they up to now?" I muttered.

As we walked up behind them, Geralt lifted his arms and planted them on both of their shoulders, which caused them to jump in fright. Before I could even blink, Yang had flung the man over her shoulder to slam into the ground.

"Whoah! Whoah!" I yelled as I held up my hands, "Easy there!"

That's when I saw the panicked expression in Yang's eyes, and as I looked past her, it finally hit me what was wrong. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as Ruby spoke, her voice quavering, "Uncle Qrow," She said, "Where did Mr. Freezy go?"


	2. Chapter 2

Yang managed to compose herself enough to semi-coherently tell us what had happened. They had been heading back to the house, when a black streak had shot through the air, slamming into the snowman. A figure in a black hood and cloak had then appeared, squatting on top of Mr. Freezy's head. Zwei had growled at the thing, which seemed to have scared it, as it disappeared. Then the snowman had lurched to life; it had straightened, looked around, then had started moving through the snow, leaving a trail behind it.

Geralt and I spent the next several minutes reassuring the two girls as we escorted them back inside the house. Despite our soothing tones, our eyes raked over our surroundings, our hands hovering over our weapons every step of the way.

When we closed the door, Taiyang's head peeked out from the kitchen, from which some pretty heavenly smells were wafting into the entry hall. "Hey guys, how was sledding?" His smile vanished as he saw Ruby and Yang's expressions and his eyes shot to me. "Is anyone hurt?"

I shook my head, "No, everyone's fine, but we have to talk," I turned to the girls, "Why don't you two start chowing down." All signs of hesitancy and apprehension vanished instantly as the two dashed towards the kitchen, the call of delicious food proving its worth as a panacea for all ills.

"Just leave some for the rest of us!" Captain Geralt rumbled after them.

"No promises!" Yang shot back.

Captain Geralt chuckled slightly, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes, and Taiyang followed the two of us as we walked up the stairs and into his room. Captain Geralt closed the door behind us and locked it.

"What's going on, Qrow?" Taiyang asked, his voice tense.

I sat down on the bed and pulled out my flask, "There's something out there, something bad."

Taiyang shuddered, "I'm guessing by your tone that it's not Grimm."

I shook my head, "It's kind of like the things from Mountain Glenn." I told him, watching his face closely, "It tried to get Ruby, but Zwei stopped it."

Taiyang's hand went into a fist at that, "But didn't kill it?"

I shook my head, "No, and it apparently possessed Mr. Freezy."

Taiyang blinked, "The snowman?" He walked over to the window and looked outside, "Huh."

"Yeah, it dragged itself off and-"

"It left?" Taiyang asked, his tone tense.

I frowned, "Yeah and-"

"You're sure?"

I let out a small sigh, knowing what was coming, "Why?"

"Because it's back, and I think it brought a couple of friends."

* * *

I practically leapt off the bed and sprinted over to the window; sure enough there was Mr. Freezy, along with two other snowmen. One was an amateurish, lumpy snowmen, with a lopsided head, while the other was larger than the other two, a pipe sticking out of its mouth. All three were staring at the house, but as one, as though aware of our gaze, they looked up directly at us.

I heard Zwei start barking wildly from downstairs, "Aww, what's wrong Zwei?" Ruby asked.

The gaze of the snowmen shot back down to the house, and as one, they turned around to go back into the forest. Almost immediately, Zwei's frenzied barking ceased and I heard the two girls fussing over him.

"Aw man." Taiyang breathed.

"Well, that's just great." I muttered, "What do you make of that Geralt?

The knight scratched his chin, "Multiple possessions. We're dealing with a pretty powerful Revenant here."

"Aw _man_." Taiyang repeated.

I grunted, "Alright, so it's gathering a snowman army, big whoop, let's just grab a couple of flamethrowers and get'em done."

Geralt grimaced, "I would like to think it'll be that easy."

"Hey, we're due for a lucky break at some point."

"People who get lucky breaks do not get Revenants building armies to go after them."

"Aw man, aw man." My former teammate's eyes were practically bugging out of their skull as he stared at the spots in the snow where the creatures had been standing

I lightly punched Taiyang on the shoulder, "Hey. Keep it together."

The Huntsman shook himself and his mouth tightened, but he gave me a sharp nod, and stopped his panicked muttering.

"Alright," I turned to Captain Geralt, "So just how badass are we talking here?"

The knight captain grimaced, "Like evacuate the island kind of bad. The fact that it was able to take residence on a place like Patch that hasn't had any kind of really big tragedies for it to feast on, and yet has this kind of power means that it must be insanely ancient and resilient. If it manages a massacre to create a food source for itself then we're in huge trouble."

"Right," I sighed, "So what do you recommend-"

"Say there was a tragedy that happened here that's acting as a food source already." Taiyang suddenly interrupted, "What would you do?"

Captain Geralt and I turned to the Huntsman, "Well…" The knight began slowly, "Assuming we could find the source, there's a possibility that we could sanctify it; that would make it poisonous to the Revenant; severely weakening it. It certainly would be a lot less scary of a situation than if it was starved and accomplishing all of this. Why do you ask?"

"Because there wasn't exactly a tragedy that happened on Patch, but it happened off the coast. Five hundred people died when a giant Grimm attacked some ships that were coming in."

I blinked, "How do you-"

Taiyang rolled his eyes, "Patch History Museum, Ruby and Yang were really bored and I was desperate."

I turned to Geralt and he nodded, "That would do it alright; that many deaths in such a state of panic would make even a weak Revenant capable of what we've seen."

"You remember it's location?" I asked Taiyang.

He nodded, "Well enough."

"Alright, this is how it's gonna go." I turned to Captain Geralt, "You prepare a sanctification ritual for me to bring. Tai and I will have to move fast and quiet, so you'll stay here and protect the girls."

Captain Geralt's eyes flicked between the two of us, and I have to admit that I was slightly irritated at the flash of smug triumph in his eyes as he spoke. "Of course, you are also old teammates and therefore should know how to work together."

I glared at him slightly, "Right... Tai, get whatever you need, I have some stuff to get ready."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, I cracked open the front door and peered around.I jerked my head at Tai who was following close behind. We dashed out the door and into the cover of the trees surrounding the house. "Alright, where to from here?" I asked Taiyang.

"It's gonna be east of here, once we reach the coast we'll be heading south to Settler's Cove."

I nodded, "Alright, lead the way."

The Huntsman did so, and I had to admit, he hadn't lost his edge, moving professionally from cover to cover, his eyes always peeled for any sign of movement.

We had been traveling for about half an hour like this when we came upon the first body.

Tai had been leading when he had abruptly stopped, holding up his hand as he spotted something. He had carefully approached something crumpled on the ground. He leaned forward to get a better look, then had to walk off to the side to vomit profusely.

I grimaced and walked forward to examine the corpse.

It was of a man, probably early thirties; granted it was kind of hard to tell considering that it looked like most of the bones had been yanked out of his body.

The part of me that wasn't currently joining Taiyang observed the corpse with a clinical detachment; the only damage to the flesh had been the initial cut to get at the bones. Through that one hole every single portion of the man's skeleton had been extracted, leaving the man's body as a pile of blood, flesh, and fat.

To the side, Taiyang recovered himself, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, "Sorry, just-"

I held up a hand, "Shhh… hear that?"

There was a constant, grinding sound that was growing faster, and more insistent, then it stopped and there was a loud crash as something fell to the ground in the distance.

Taiyang and I exchanged a look and we crept forward through the forest; the sound began again and it grew louder as we got closer.

The source of the sound was a trio of snowmen, all gathered around a large tree, and all of them were holding onto a large, bizarre looking tool. The snowmen worked the tool back and forth on the tree, creating that grinding sound; I blinked as I looked around the clearing and realized what they were doing.

"They're cutting down trees." I murmured.

"Not only that," Taiyang replied, his voice quivering slightly, "It looks like we found out what happened with those bones."

At first I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but then the tree the snowmen were working on crashed to the ground and they set aside the tool, giving me a full view.

The saw was made entirely out of bone.

I grimaced, "Well that's frickin' pleasant." I muttered.

The two of us fell silent as there was a rumble and a gigantic _thing_ trotted into view. It looked like it was supposed to have been a huge oxen, but it was bulged and misshapen, lumpy in some places and weirdly devoted in others, and of course, it was entirely made out of snow, save for the wooden halter attaching it to a large sled that was being dragged behind it.

Four more snowmen leapt off the back of the sled and began lifting the trees on the ground and carrying them to the sled, depositing them in the back. Finally, all of the felled trees were loaded on and the snowmen all piled into the sled. There was sharp whistle, and the ox-thing reared up slightly and then began pulling the sled back the way it had come.

Taiyang turned to me, "Follow it?"

"Follow it." I agreed.

* * *

We followed behind the macabre sled as it made a couple more stops for more trees and snowmen. Fortunately, none of the creatures seemed very observant, instead being focussed entirely on their tasks.

After traveling for a couple of hours, I spoke, "So, two guesses as to where they're heading…"

Taiyang nodded, "Yeah, they're meandering, but they're heading to the site of the wreck. What do you think they're doing with all those trees?"

I shrugged, "No clue, although it can't be good, whatever it is." I turned to him, "Head back to the house; I can handle things from here."

Taiyang shook his head, "Hell no."

I raised an eyebrow, "We know where they're headed, I can scout it out, sneak in, and get the ritual done. You don't have to keep coming with me."

His hands tightened into fists, "I know that, but this _thing_ tried to get Ruby." His gaze grew fierce and something savage sparked in his eyes, "I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit on my ass back home. We're doing this together."

I shrugged, "Fine, but you follow my lead, got it? We can't afford to screw this up."

Taiyang nodded his acceptance and without another word we went back to trailing the creatures.

* * *

 _ **And so they say,**_

 _ **Qrow's heart for Taiyang, grew three sizes that day.**_

 _ **Isn't that sweet?**_

 _ **Oh, what a treat,**_

 _ **Sweet, sweet cardiac meat.**_

 _ **Oh dear reader don't you know?**_

 _ **Who's REALLY running this snowman horror show?**_

 _ **Twinkle, twinkle little star.**_

 _ **Helium and Hydrogen is what you are.**_

 _ **Boom.**_

 _ **Hah.**_

 _ **What a gas.**_

* * *

The terrain slowly began changing around us as we approached the coast, the trees and brush grew less common, forcing us to use less obvious spots from which to observe the snowmen's progress.

As the beach came into view, so too did a large, dark object that lay squatting on the sand.

"It looks like the wreck was brought up to the shore." Taiyang noted.

I nodded, "That might be what's caused the Revenant to become active."

Taiyang jerked his head at one of the hills overlooking the beach and I nodded. We moved up to the vantage point and went prone, observing the activity going on below us.

The gigantic ox-thing was detached from the sled and went over to the side, it then planted its front hoofs and began digging at the soil, sending dirt and sand flying. After it was done, it moved off to the side, allowing the snowmen to approach with a strange, white contraption that I realized with a shudder was probably made out of more bone.

After they were done planting the contraption in, they lifted up one of the trees and set it upright into the ground. No doubt that strange tool was meant to keep it secured, despite the otherwise loose soil.

"So, what does this look like to you?" Taiyang asked.

I frowned as the snow beings repeated the process, "Don't know honestly," I said slowly, "Those could be legs for some kind of wooden body for it to possess; it could also be constructing a ritual or a wickerman to summon something bigger or to create some kind of magical effect-"

Then I lifted a single eyebrow as I cut off in sheer bewilderment at what one team of snowmen with a tall, bone ladder appeared to be doing.

"What, what is it?" Taiyang asked.

"Or…" I said slowly, "They could be decorating them for Tannenbaum."


	3. Chapter 3

_Come they told me_

 _Pa rum pum pum pum_

 _A new born_ _**King**_ _to see_

 _Pa rum pum pum pum_

 _Our finest_ _ **Gifts**_ _we bring_

 _Pa rum pum pum pum_

 _To lay before the_ _ **King**_

 _Pa rum pum pum pum,_

 _So to honor him_

 _ **Da dun dun dun dum**_

 _ **The King he feasts on the flesh**_

 _ **Da dun dun dun dum**_

 _ **Rip Tear Sweet Flesh So Fresh**_

 _ **Da dun dun dun dum**_

 _ **Remember well the babe of Dunwich**_

 _ **Da dun dun dun dum**_

 _ **A babe king with such an itch**_

 _ **Da dun dun dun dum**_

 _ **Oh what a-**_

Error: Detecting the Grinch-wise Menace

Firing the Chestnut Synapses;

Buzz, This is gonna _Hurt_ , Buzz

 _ **Son of a b-**_

Open Fire Purge: Successful

Continue Transcription

* * *

Taiyang and I were both silent as we watched the surreal scene taking place before our eyes. One team of snowmen had a bundle of seaweed that appeared to be woven together with seashells, which they draped around the trees like tinsel. Others had pieces of scrap metal and other odds and ends that they carefully hung from branches. As soon as the snowmen anchoring the trees were done with a tree, the decorative teams did their work.

"Um, so from what I understand, revenants feed off of tragedy and suffering right?" Taiyang asked.

I nodded dumbly.

"So, I mean, I'll grant you that it's kind of horrifying, but the decorating isn't bad enough to be called 'tragic'." He joked weakly.

I let out a snort and began scanning the area, Taiyang was right, we needed to find out just what the hell was going on.

"Why do I get the distinct impression that you're about to say that we're going in there?" Taiyang asked.

"Because we have to," I answered, "Both to investigate just what's going on here and to get into position for the ritual."

Taiyang took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Okay, how do you want to do this?"

I nodded to the trees, "I'm going to sneak in and light some of those trees on fire; while they're distracted, we get into the wreck."

"The Qrow classic." Taiyang replied ruefully, "Set something on fire. Alright, I'll be ready to move."

I opened my pack and pulled out a couple of crystals of Fire Dust; Taiyang held out his hand and I gave him the rest of my pack. He then rose into a crouch and began moving across the hill.

I concentrated and reached for my Semblance, turning into a bird, I grabbed the crystals with my talons and flew down to the trees below.

I landed in the trees amongst the seaweed tinsel and deposited the crystals; I then shifted into a squirrel and grabbed two of the crystals; I then quickly struck the two against each other, sending sparks into the branches.

I repeated the process a few times until small specks of flame began to take hold. I waited for a moment to make sure it would catch and then leapt off and shifted back into bird form to fly to my next target. I went from tree to tree in this manner, until there was a group of trees that were going up in a blaze. The snowmen's first reaction was to run around in panic, their maws gaping open in silent screams; a couple of them threw themselves on the flames, attempting to put them out with the snow from their own bodies.

I frowned as I stopped my sabotage to watch the snowmen; something about their reaction didn't seem right. It was disorganized and frantic compared to their prior supernatural coordination.

Finally, one of the snowmen began driving the giant ox creature towards the ocean; its great, plodding steps taking it into the surf. On a command it bent down and quaffed a huge amount of water.

I watch in fascination, not just at the beast as he opened its maw and let forth a torrent of water, extinguishing the flaming trees; but also at the individual snowmen as they continued to scatter around. Slowly, order once more began to take hold, the teams began setting up the trees that had toppled and re-decorating them. The effort led by several of the snowmen who seemed to be setting themselves to the task of re-organizing the tasks that had been running so smoothly before the sabotage.

I pulled myself away from my observations as I saw a flash of movement at the opening in the wreck. I launched myself off of the branches and flew into the wreck, transforming myself into human form as I dove into a cranny.

I scanned my surroundings, the hole in the wreck was massive, and the surrounding metal was warped, as though something had punched it in, briefly I wondered just what kind of Grimm could create a hole like that. More to the point, Taiyang had intimated that the Grimm hadn't been destroyed, just where was the monstrosity now?

Taiyang waved a hand out of his own cover a little further into the wreck; and I snuck my way up to him, "Listen." He said when I reached him.

I did so and frowned, "Sounds like singing."

Taiyang nodded down one of the hallways that led further into the wreck, "It's coming from there."

We both looked down that hallway for a while. It was brightly lit, with colored lights lining the walls, lines of the seaweed tinsel hung from the ceiling; all of which made a bright, cheery atmosphere.

Honestly, I think I would have prefered it to be a dark, dank hallway, I know what to expect from those.

Taiyang must have been thinking along similar lines, because it was with great apprehension in his voice that he spoke, "I guess we should investigate?"

I patted him on the back, "Yeah, we should." And we started walking down the hall.

* * *

The singing grew progressively louder and in keeping with the theme, it appeared to be a series of traditional Tannenbaum carols.

"This kind of thing happen a lot?" Taiyang asked.

"Nope, this is kind of a new one." I answered as a rousing rendition of 'Star upon the Tree' echoed eerily down the hall.

We carefully rounded the corner to see the hall open up into a large, open space; through which we could see several snowmen standing around a central figure.

"That's Mr. Freezy." Taiyang whispered as we got closer.

The snowman was currently putting the finishing touches on another snowman, affixing small branches for the arms. Once it had finished the snowman it stepped back and lifted its arms.

"What's it doing?" Taiyang asked.

"Infusing essence into it," I responded, "It's how the other snowmen are able to move around."

A pearly white cloud emerged lazily from the wreck, it drifted over to the snowman and then dove into it. A few moments later the new snowman blinked and then began moving off to start assisting its brethren.

"Interesting." Taiyang noted.

"I'll say," I replied, "We've seriously misread the situation here."

Taiyang frowned, "What do you mean?"

"That wasn't the Revenant's essence, that was another spirit." The reaction of the snowmen outside suddenly making more sense, "It's not multiple possessions, it's using lesser spirits… that's really unusual."

"Why's that?"

I shrugged, "It'd be like a Grimm starting a hospital. Revenants are highly selfish and solitary monsters, they'd rather eat lesser spirits to feed themselves so that they can get stronger."

"Huh," Taiyang peered further into the room, "Hey, is that where the singing is coming from?"

I followed his gaze to see a collection of pearly white, translucent figures standing against the wall. All were dressed in old sailor uniforms and they were holding small choir books.

"Looks like it."

"Uh-huh." Taiyang scratched his chin, "At the museum they had a picture of the crew of the ship, that's them."

An idea began taking shape in my mind, "What if…" I said slowly, "We've been assuming all this time that the Revenant came here from somewhere else; but what if that's wrong, what if it actually came from this ship?"

"What would that change?" Taiyang asked.

I frowned as I considered that, "I would have to change the ritual a little, but unlike a food source; sanctifying the source wouldn't just weaken the Revenant, it might actually almost destroy it."

Taiyang nodded, "You know, one thing's been bothering for a while."

"What's that?" I asked.

"So, there was no construction or salvage equipment on the beach, no sign of an encampment." Taiyang pointed out.

"Right," I answered slowly, "Otherwise they would be using them rather than taking skeletons for their tools."

Taiyang nodded, "So if that's the case; that means that nobody on Patch brought this wreck up from the sea. So the question is, who or what did?"

"An excellent deduction," A wheezing voice said behind us, "We did."


	4. Chapter 4

_The legend lives on from the Mormusan on down_

 _Of the channel they called 'Mavro Canali'_

 _The channel, it is said, never gives up her dead_

 _When the skies of the sea turn gloomy_

 _With a load of five-hundred souls more_

 _Than when the Solpari stood empty,_

 _That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed_

 _When the Grimm of the channel stirred angry._

 _As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most_

 _With a crew and good captain well seasoned._

 _None of that could save them all though_

 _When that monster came hungering_

 _It was over in a few minutes, no more_

 _And they all sank to the bottom._

 _The legend lives on from the Mormusan on down_

 _Of the channel they called 'Mavro Canali'_

 _The channel it is said, never gives up her dead_

 _When the skies of the sea turn gloomy._

"The Wreck of the _Solpari_ " - Heather Montgomery

* * *

When I whirled around, Harbinger in hand, I had been expecting one kind of monstrosity or another. Maybe some kind of spectral being like the Revenant, maybe a construct like the snowmen. What I hadn't been expecting was a short, affable looking old man with a weathered face that bespoke of years of sailing on the seas.

Beside me, Taiyang inhaled sharply, "Qrow…" He hissed, "This was the captain of the _Solpari_ , Saltz Fitzgerald."

The man chuckled and scratched his chin, "'Was'? I still am… I suppose." He gestured to the two of us, "Come, we have much to discuss." He turned and began tromping his way down the hall. Revealing a set of chains that were wrapped around his ankles, their ends trailing off deeper into the ship.

Lifting an eyebrow, I hesitated for a moment, then sheathed my blade.

"You're not serious." Taiyang asked incredulously.

"If he wanted to kill us, he would have just called in his buddies." I said, jerking my head back at the snowmen and ghosts in the large room behind us, "He wants to talk, so let's talk. We need to find out what in the world is going on here anyway."

Taiyang grimaced, "Yeah, you're right."

"Usually am." I quipped.

We followed the captain down the hall; the clanking of his chains echoing in the otherwise silent ship.

"So young man, you seemed to recognize me." The captain commented over his shoulder, "How has this come to be?"

Taiyang hesitated, then looked at me and I shrugged.

"The Patch History Museum had an exhibit on the wreck." Taiyang answered.

The captain smiled ruefully at that, "You know, I always hoped to be famous one day." He let out a slow, wheezing laugh, "I guess be careful what you wish for."

He stopped in front of a large, metal door, which let out a loud screech as he opened it to step inside.

We followed him into what appeared to be the captain's quarters, a large, rotting desk dominated the center of the room and the walls were covered with dilapidated maps and charts.

"I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of accommodating guests." Captain Fitzgerald admitted, "Only one bottle of scotch survived the waves." He reached into the desk and pulled out a large bottle of the golden liquid, which he set down in front of us, along with a trio of glass cups.

He took one and gestured to the other two, "Go on, drink up, might as well use it up now."

I grabbed one of the glasses and Taiyang followed my lead, I took a cautious sniff and then downed it; letting out a sigh of satisfaction as the liquid burned in my throat.

"Why's that?" I asked the captain.

He examined his glass for a while, then set it down in front of him, "Let me guess, that history museum you mentioned, it claimed it was a Grimm that drowned us?"

Taiyang nodded, "Yeah."

"Well that's a bunch of hooey." The captain stated flatly. "That was no Grimm, it was something else, something ancient and more alien than any Grimm on Remnant."

He was silent for a moment, "It all started with that damn fog." He told us, "It rolled in faster than you could spit. Damn near blinded us." He shook his head, "That's when the distress signal came in over the radio." He jerked his thumb at his chest, "I'd been sailing for near on forty-years, ain't no fog I couldn't navigate. So I had the boys lock in and we headed for it." He poured himself another thumb of scotch and knocked it back, slamming the cup back down on the table, making it shake.

"Damn my pride!" He spat, "I had a bad feeling in my gut the whole way in, but ain't no sailor worth his salt going to leave a fellow soul to the sea. We found the ship alright, a little schooner, only one survivor still on board; claimed the sea had taken the rest. He was an odd fellow, maybe about this high," He lifted a hand up, indicating a man of average height, "Mayhaps a little round at the belly, but it was his eyes. They looked like they had seen something, something that had taken the mind inside."

The captain trailed off, then shook himself, "Anyways, the fog, it followed us, then a couple of crew members went missing, then some of the colonists. The lads starting getting suspicious, talked of a murderer on board." He shivered, "So we set a trap one night, poor Wilkins, by the time we got into the room, that odd fellow had already carved some damnable symbol straight into his chest."

"What did the symbol look like?" I asked him.

"It looked like a trident." He answered, "With some kind of wavy things across it, anyways, we sent the bastard into the sea with a couple of stones around his ankles." His eyes grew distant, "He was babbling the whole way, saying that his master was coming, coming to get us and all of Patch; all of Remnant. He sank fast, justice of the sea."

He let out a sigh, "But whether it really was his master, or what not, we saw something in the fog, something big, really big; damn near tall as a mountain. It was moving fast… too fast for us to escape. It caught up to us in the channel, so I made a choice," His eyes lifted and I could see the defiance in them, "I drove the ship straight into it, full speed." He said, "Went straight into its belly, and we sank together beneath the waves."

He leaned back in his chair, "Saved a whole mess of lives on Patch, of that I have no doubt, but it was a spiteful creature and sank every lifeboat we had sent to Patch before it finally went beneath the water." He closed his eyes, "I know not what power kept us from the beyond." He admitted, "All I know is that whatever it was gave us a task in our undeath, that creature isn't dead, just sleeping, and when it wakes again, we're to take it under the waves, this time for good."

"So that's why you brought it up on the beach…" I said slowly.

The captain nodded, "Aye, the _Solpari_ and its crew will have one more voyage, and then… we can finally sleep."

"So what's the deal with all of the Tannenbaum stuff?" I asked him.

He sunk into his chair, "That…" He said, "Pertains to a more tragic side of the story…" He stood up, "Come, it is easier to show you."

We followed our host out of the room and back down the hall, the singing growing louder as we did so.

"So did that ring any bells?" Taiyang asked me.

"Oh yeah, and they're all bad ones." I answered, "That symbol is bad news, and with that fog... if that thing had gotten to Patch, there's no telling what kind of destruction it could have brought. The captain is lowballing on just how many lives his crew saved that day."

"Right," Taiyang glanced nervously at the room ahead, "You sure you're okay with him just leading us straight into the room full of spirits and the Revenant? I'm rather attached to my skeleton."

I shrugged, "You want to turn around, be my guest; but no matter how nicely you ask, I won't tell you what I found out."

"Screw you Qrow." He hissed as we followed the captain into the room.

Instantly, the song fell silent as the spirits and Mr. Frosty all stared at the two mortals that had just entered what amounted to a lion's den. Despite my cavalier answer to Taiyang's question, I shivered a little as I could practically feel the hunger radiate throughout the room.

"Stand down!" Captain Fitzgerald boomed, his voice echoing around the room.

Instantly the spirits of the crew obeyed, slowly returning back to their eerie singing. Mr. Frosty however, seemed far more reluctant, sliding towards us slowly, its eyes fixated on us.

"Stand. Down." Captain Fitzgerald commanded once more.

The Revenant-possessed snowman paid no heed, and I slowly began to draw Harbinger from its sheath.

The Captain sighed and then reached down and grabbed the chain around his ankle, and gave a single pull.

Mr. Freezy gave out a harsh screech, its twig hands reaching for its throat, stopping in its tracks. The captain let the tension go out of the chain and the snowman recovered, letting its arms fall back down to its sides.

The snowman glared at the captain, frustration and anger roiling off of its snowy frame, the undead man for his part, simply stood calmly, his hand still wrapped around the chain. With a hiss, Mr. Freezy turned and made its way back to the platform, where it continued its work on another snowman.

I let out a slow sigh of relief and sheathed my weapon, beside me Taiyang gave a weak grin, "So you do get nervous."

"Bite me Tai." I shot back.

"You must forgive my companions." Captain Fitzgerald wheezed, "They did not retain as much of their former selves as I did."

He led us up a set of steps and to a chair, where there was another specter, its form glowing gold.

It was in the form of a small child, no more than ten years old.

"This," Captain Fitzgerald said, "Is why."

We watched as the child ignored us, instead it fiddled with a small music box, a wolf howling at a moon intricately carved into its face.

"When the children died; they did not form individual spirits as we did." The captain explained, "Instead, they coalesced, becoming one spirit. For these long, miserable years, it's the only thing that's brought happiness into our lives."

The child noticed us for the first time and it smiled, despite myself, I felt my heart being warmed slightly.

The captain smiled sadly, "When we brought the wreck up to shore, we caught a radio broadcast of a song, a Tannenbaum song. It heard it and it sat silent as a mouse. Then when it finished, it started crying." He shook his head, "Damn near broke our hearts, so one of the lads started singing, sure enough, just sat still again." He turned to us, "That's when we decided, we know that it's our last hours; might as well make them happy ones." His eyes teared up, "Pay it back for being our sole light in that abyss."

I was silent for a long time, "So why did they go after my niece?" I asked him.

The captain winced, "I'm sorry about that, I did not approve, but the ship has always had its own ideas. That's already stopped."

I lifted an eyebrow at that, "Alright, good to hear."

The captain nodded, then pulled out a pocket watch, "Now if you'll excuse me, we have to be casting off soon." He extended out a hand, "It was good to meet you two gentlemen, at least now someone will know the real story."

I shook it, "Thank you for your sacrifice."

Taiyang shook the captain's hand as well and then the undead man left the room bawling orders.

I sighed and turned around, "C'mon Tai, we're done here."

"Kind of feels wrong," He murmured, "You realize that we're not going to be able to tell anyone about any of this. They'd never believe us; no one will ever know just how much these men and women have sacrificed."

"I mean, Captain Geralt is an anyone."

Taiyang rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

I shrugged, "I mean, look at it this way, they'll also never know that they went on shore and horribly slaughtered innocent people to make Tannenbaum decorations."

He winced, "Fair enough." His gaze wandered over to the child spirit and he frowned, "Is there really nothing that we can do? It feels wrong to just leave."

I shrugged, "I mean, it's not like we can take any of them with us-" I cut off with a frown, "Actually, give me a second." I pulled out my scroll and tapped in a number. It rang a couple of times and then Geralt's face appeared in the viewscreen, his face covered with a strange cream, a pair of goggles on his face.

"What's up?" He asked.

"What's up yourself?" I asked.

"Oh just keeping myself and the girls busy." Geralt replied lightly, and in the background I could see flames spew across the ground.

"Are those flamethrowers?" Taiyang asked nervously over my shoulder. At that very moment, a small figure stepped into view. She was covered completely in a silvery suit and on her back was a large tank linked to a tube that she held in both hands. She hit a switch and a gout of flame shot forward, almost instantly evaporating the snow in huge swath.

"Is that Ruby?" Taiyang demanded, "What the hell is going on over there?"

Captain Geralt held up a placating hand, "Everything is fine, it's just that the girls were getting stir crazy and so I decided to rig up some stuff to clear the snow around the house."

I nodded, "Nice idea, but fortunately it looks like it won't be necessary. Long story short, we severely misunderstood what was going on and I needed to ask you something."

Captain Geralt listened to my question and he frowned, "Hmm… I suppose it would be possible, but difficult. You'll have to alter some of the core runes in the design."

"Can you walk us through it?" I asked him.

He nodded, "Just set up the scroll so that I can see it."

"On it," I took off my bag and began rummaging around for the ritual pieces, "Tai, go get the captain."

He nodded and dashed towards the sound of the captain's voice.

"Captain?" Geralt asked.

"Like I said, long story, I'll explain when I get back."

He nodded, "I'll hold you to that." He replied as I pulled out the mix of odds and ends that constituted the ritual pieces; all inscribed with runes that glowed a faint blue.

"

Alright, so first you're going to have to change the rune on the center-piece." He told me,

"That's the clock right?" I asked, lifting up the miniature table-stand clock.

He nodded, "Right, there should be a time rune and a soul rune on the back, you'll need to disconnect them and draw a binding rune."

I pulled Harbinger out of its sheath and very carefully scratched a line through the connection between the two runes and inscribed a circle with two lines around it.

"Done." I told him.

"Good, now get the holy symbol."

I seized a stone that was carved in the shape of the emblem of the Order of the Equinox.

"Right, there's a purification rune on it, you're going to need to alter that to connect with a binding rune and a shielding rune."

I found the rune in the shape of a rectangle with a cross in the center and quickly scratched two lines, one of which I drew another circle with two lines at its end; then I hesitated.

"Um… which one was the shielding one again." I asked.

"It's like one of those circle diagram things in a triangle."

"What circle diagram thing?" I asked.

"You know, the thing with the comparisons and stuff." He answered.

"Well that's descriptive." I said dryly, "But that sounds like a Venn diagram."

"Right, that thing in a triangle."

I began inscribing the rune on the stone, "How is it that you can remember practically every rune and ritual in existence, but not that?"

"You're the teacher, you tell me." Captain Geralt answered back, "Now, you're going to need something connected to whatever you're caging. Whether that be a sentimental object, a piece of it, whatever. You're going to put a binding rune connected to a cage rune on that."

"Cage rune?" I asked.

The former knight sighed, "A square with three vertical lines in it."

"Right, thanks."

He nodded, "Good luck."

I hung up, "Damn, we're going to have a tough time one-upping flamethrowers for Tannenbaum." I muttered.

Taiyang walked in, followed by Captain Fitzgerald, "This gentleman said you needed me for something?"

"Yeah," I quickly explained my idea to him.

For a long time he was silent, then tears began to fall from his eyes, "Yes, of course." He managed, "That would mean all the world to us."

"You understand there's a risk involved?" I asked him.

He chuckled, "It would mean oblivion anyway if you didn't try. At least this way there's a chance."

I took a deep breath then turned to the child ghost, "Let's do this," I breathed.

* * *

About an hour later, Taiyang and I stood on the cliffs overlooking the channel, watching the ship.

"There it goes." Taiyang said.

Sure enough, the ship was slowly launching itself out to into the water from the beach; eerily silent despite its massive size.

"Oh dust and bones." Taiyang muttered, "What the hell is _that?_ "

Off in the channel, something was rising from the water, something massive, with a myriad of limbs hanging from its torso and face. A fog began forming over the water, thickening with unnatural speed.

The _Solpari_ drove on, disappearing into the fog.

As we watched in spellbound horror, the silhouette of the monster began shifting, moving towards the shoreline with great, ponderous steps.

Suddenly it stopped in its tracks, and there was an ear-splitting roar that seemed to crack the sky itself with its pain and fury. Slowly, surely, the thing sank beneath the fog; which began to dissipate.

Soon, the fog, the ship, and the creature were all gone, leaving the channel empty, the waves calmly lapping at the shore.

"Is… is it over?" Taiyang asked.

"Jeez Tai," I glared at him, "Never, _ever_ ask that. That's like… cliche 101."

"Is it though?" He insisted.

I bit back an angry response and looked out over the waves, trying to hide the fact that every muscle in my body was tensed up and ready for action.

But there was nothing.

I let out a slow sigh, "It looks like it." I told him, "C'mon," I began walking back towards the house, "We've got to clean up the mess they left on the beach."

Taiyang frowned, "Wait, why are you going that way then?"

I grinned, "You'll see."

The rest of that Tannenbaum was eerily magical, Taiyang and I used the flamethrowers that Geralt and the girls had built to burn all of the remaining macabre ornaments remaining on the beach. Of course, being the girls of a Huntsman and Huntress, Ruby and Yang couldn't resist being in a place with so much fire. So after we had cleared the more disturbing pieces, we moved our Tannenbaum tree to the shore, and Geralt had somehow procured a massive bag of chestnuts that he proceeded to roast near the inferno. Taiyang for his part brought the meal he had cooked and we ate right there on the beach. Which afterward only left…

"Presents!" The girls yipped excitedly as they tore into the meticulously wrapped boxes with a savage glee. Taiyang had insisted on packing away the flamethrowers until the girls were older, which Geralt grumbled about just as much as they did, but the girls at least were appeased with their myriad other gifts.

Towards the end of the night, I beckoned Yang and Ruby over from their piles of toys. "I have a very special gift for both of you." I said, handing them a small box.

Ruby reached inside and pulled out what was inside, "What is it?" She asked in wonderment.

"It's a music box." I replied, "You wind that." I pointed to a small metal rod on the side, "And it plays music."

"Wow." She breathed, she grasped it and wound it around.

At first, it was silent, but then a calm, lilting tune came from the wooden box, almost like a choir of children singing.

"It's beautiful." Yang breathed.

"Thanks Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, "We'll take extra good care of it, I promise!"

I smiled softly, "I know you will." I answered, gazing at the wolf inscribed upon its face as Ruby and Yang wound it around again, quiet as the box sang across the waves.

* * *

 _ **The Grinch can cry Chuck.**_

 _ **The Krampus can sob.**_

 _ **Even Belzebub can shed a few tears.**_

 _ **It doesn't mean much, but oh how it can burn.**_

 _ **I remember the tree and lights.**_

 _ **I remember the food and the presents.**_

 _ **I remember the songs.**_

 _ **That's when a fallen angel cries, Chuck.**_

 _ **Not when it hears the beat of the drum;**_

 _ **But when it hears the soft spoken lullabye.**_

 _ **See you around.**_

* * *

 _Sweet, sweet is the sound._

 _Sweet, sweet is the song._

 _Sweet, Sweet as nectar._

 _Happy be your Holidays, dear Sweetling._

 _Now and Forever._

END TRANSCRIPTION


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